Cape Fear River

Last updated
Cape Fear River
Tributary to Atlantic Ocean
Capefearrivermap.png
Map of the Cape Fear River drainage basin
Location
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Bladen
Brunswick
Chatham
Columbus
Cumberland
Harnett
Lee
New Hanover
Pender
City Lillington
Erwin
Fayetteville
Elizabethtown
Wilmington
Southport
Physical characteristics
Sourceconfluence of Deep River and Haw River
 • locationabout 1 mile southeast of Moncure, North Carolina
 • coordinates 35°35′48″N079°03′07″W / 35.59667°N 79.05194°W / 35.59667; -79.05194 [1]
 • elevation154 ft (47 m) [2]
Mouth Atlantic Ocean
 • location
between Oak Island and Bald Head Island
 • coordinates
 33°53′08″N078°00′46″W / 33.88556°N 78.01278°W / 33.88556; -78.01278 [1]
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m) [2]
Length191.08 mi (307.51 km) [3]
Basin size9,120.61 square miles (23,622.3 km2) [4]
Discharge 
 • location Atlantic Ocean
 • average9,959.87 cu ft/s (282.032 m3/s) at mouth with Atlantic Ocean [4]
Basin features
Progressiongenerally southeast
River system Cape Fear River
Tributaries 
 • left Gulf Creek, Buckhorn Creek, Parkers Creek, Avents Creek, Hector Creek, Neills Creek, Dry Creek, Buies Creek, Thorntons Creek, Juniper Creek, Cedar Creek, Phillips Creek, Harrison Creek, Ellis Creek, Turnbull Creek, Mulford Creek, Bandeau Creek, Frenchs Creek, Black River, Northeast Cape Fear River, Barnards Creek, Mott Creek, Telfairs Creek
 • right Wombles Creek, Little Shaddox Creek, Lick Creek, Bush Creek, Fall Creek, Daniels Creek, Cedar Creek, Camels Creek, Little Creek, Fish Creek, Poorhouse Creek, Upper Little River, Little River, Carvers Creek, Cross Creek, Rockfish Creek, Grays Creek, Willis Creek, Georgia Branch, Hucklebrry Swamp, Black Swamp, Bakers Creek, Browns Creek, Pemberton Creek, Hammonds Creek, Drunken Run, Donoho Creek, Carvers Creek, Plummers Run, Steep Run, Weyman Creek, Double Branch, Livingston Creek, Bryant Mill Creek, Grist Mill Branch, Bay Branch, Indian Creek, Cartwheel Branch, Alligator Creek, Brunswick River, Mallory Creek, Little Mallory Creek, Town Creek, Sand Hill Creek, Liliput Creek, Orton Creek, Walden Creek, Price Creek
BridgesAvents Ferry Road, US 401-NC 210, NC 217, I-295, I-95, NC 24-210, I-95, Tarheel Ferry Road, US 701, General Howe Highway (NC 11), US 17-74, US 17

The Cape Fear River is a 191.08-mile-long (307.51 km) [5] blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carolina) in the town of Moncure, North Carolina. Its river basin is the largest in the state: 9,149 sq mi. [6]

Contents

The river is the most industrialized river in North Carolina, lined with power plants, manufacturing plants, wastewater treatment plants, landfills, paper mills, and industrial agriculture. [7] Relatedly, the river is polluted by various substances, including suspended solids and manmade chemicals. These chemicals include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), GenX, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, perfluorooctanoic acid, byproducts of production of the fluoropolymer Nafion; and intermediates used to make other fluoropolymers (e.g. PPVE, PEVE and PMVE perfluoroether). Industrial chemicals such as 1,4-Dioxane and other pollutants have been found in its tributary, the Haw River.

In 2020, a national study of tap water found the highest concentration of PFAS in Brunswick County, which gets its drinking water from the Cape Fear River. [8]

Variant names

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Cape Fear River has also been known historically as: [9]

Course

The Cape Fear River at Smith Creek in Wilmington, NC. SC CapeFearRiver.jpg
The Cape Fear River at Smith Creek in Wilmington, NC.

It is formed at Haywood, near the county line between Lee and Chatham Counties, by the confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers just below Jordan Lake. It flows southeast past Lillington, Fayetteville, and Elizabethtown, then receives the Black River about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Wilmington. At Wilmington, it receives the Northeast Cape Fear River and Brunswick River, turns south, widening as an estuary and entering the Atlantic about 3 miles (5 km) west of Cape Fear.

During the colonial era, the river provided a principal transportation route to the interior of North Carolina. [10] Today the river is navigable as far as Fayetteville through a series of locks and dams. The estuary of the river furnishes a segment of the route of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The East Coast Greenway runs along the river.

Bridges

Pollution

The Cape Fear River is polluted by industry, cities, and farmland in its drainage basin. [11] The pollution comes from both point source and nonpoint sources, including farms, city runoff, and erosion of the river's banks, which contribute pollution such as harmful chemicals and fertilizers, and larger sediments like suspended solids. [6] [11] [12] Pollutants include coal ash. [13] As with any river, the water quality varies in different regions, depending on abiotic and biotic factors. [6]

In 2020, a study found that striped bass in the river have the highest rates of PFAS documented in North American fish. [14] A 2018 study found that bass from the river had 40 times the amount of PFAS in their blood than did bass raised in an aquaculture facility. [13]

In 2020, studies by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality found "staggering" concentrations of forever chemicals begin dumped into the Deep River, a major tributary to the Cape Fear River. One sample contained PFOS at 1 part per billion, "more than 14 times greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's health advisory of 70 parts per trillion for drinking water", North Carolina Heath News reported. [8]

In 2020, a national study of tap water found the highest concentration of PFAS in Brunswick County, which gets its drinking water from the Cape Fear River. [8]

In July 2023, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services issued a fish consumption advisory for certain freshwater fish species from the middle and lower Cape Fear River due to contamination with perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). [15]

Suspended solids

Suspended solids refers to any particle (living or nonliving) discharged into an aquatic system that remains in suspension. These particles can find their way into rivers via nonpoint-source pollution or through larger point-source pollution events such as Hurricane Florence in 2018. The storm caused a dam to fail, which caused a mass leakage of coal ash into the Cape Fear River about 5 miles northwest of Wilmington, North Carolina.

GenX chemicals

GenX is a chemical in the group of manmade per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS used for nonstick, water- and stain-repellent items. GenX is a replacement PFAS, since older and more toxic PFAs are being phased out. [16] GenX is made at the Chemours plant in Fayetteville, NC and has gotten into the Cape Fear River from the plant's wastewater. [17] Like other PFAS, GenX does not easily break down and can accumulate in the environment. [16] Because of this quality, GenX can cause problems for both people and wildlife.

Chemours' wastewater put into the Cape Fear River poses a drinking-water issue for residents of the Fayetteville area and people further down the river. Several groundwater wells in Fayetteville had detections of GenX. [18] At the mouth of the river, the city of Wilmington uses the Cape Fear as a drinking-water source. Blood samples of a group of Wilmington residents showed detections of GenX. [19]

In several studies, GenX has been shown to affect wildlife. PFAS were detected in striped bass caught from the Cape Fear, and the chemical affected the liver and immune system. [20] In plants, GenX reduced the biomass and bioaccumulated in the organism. This bioaccumulation did differ between species. [21]

In a study done to test the ability of retention and how could the GenX chemical be transported in porous materials, results showed that for different forms of the GenX chemical the absorption rate was higher. This research is important to help future researchers understand the tendencies of this chemical. Contaminated sites should be inspected from the water to the soil due to the ability of GenX to travel/transport through porous material such as soil. [22]

The lack of information on the GenX chemical in North Carolina has led to the gap of knowledge about ways in which people may be exposed to these chemicals other than drinking water. Information is also limited on the health effects caused by the GenX chemical, little experiments on animals show liver damage, pancreas damage, etc. There are no federal guidelines regarding the GenX chemical. However, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has set a “health goal”, a non-regulated, and non-enforceable low contamination level where no side effects, over time, would be expected. [23]

Little is known about the effectiveness of GenX and PFEA removal from contaminated waters using methods such as ozonation and bio-filtration. Carbon in various forms can be used to treat water that has been contaminated. Experiments done with this technique showed that shorter PFAS did not absorb. [24]    

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Brunswick County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the southernmost county in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,693. Its population was only 73,143 in 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. With a nominal growth rate of approximately 47% in ten years, much of the growth is centered in the eastern section of the county in the suburbs of Wilmington such as Leland, Belville and Southport. The county seat is Bolivia, which at a population of around 150 people is among the least populous county seats in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water pollution</span> Contamination of water bodies

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources: sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution is either surface water pollution or groundwater pollution. This form of pollution can lead to many problems, such as the degradation of aquatic ecosystems or spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Another problem is that water pollution reduces the ecosystem services that the water resource would otherwise provide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Cape Fear River</span> Stream in North Carolina, USA

Northeast Cape Fear River is a 131.2 mi (211.1 km) long 5th order tributary to the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfluorooctanoic acid</span> Perfluorinated carboxylic acid

Perfluorooctanoic acid is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid produced and used worldwide as an industrial surfactant in chemical processes and as a material feedstock. PFOA is considered a surfactant, or fluorosurfactant, due to its chemical structure, which consists of a perfluorinated, n-heptyl "tail group" and a carboxylate "head group". The head group can be described as hydrophilic while the fluorocarbon tail is both hydrophobic and lipophobic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid</span> Fluorosurfactant and persistent organic pollutant

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) is a chemical compound having an eight-carbon fluorocarbon chain and a sulfonic acid functional group and thus a perfluorosulfonic acid. It is an anthropogenic (man-made) fluorosurfactant, now regarded as a global pollutant. PFOS was the key ingredient in Scotchgard, a fabric protector made by 3M, and related stain repellents. The acronym "PFOS" refers to the parent sulfonic acid and to various salts of perfluorooctanesulfonate. These are all colorless or white, water-soluble solids. Although of low acute toxicity, PFOS has attracted much attention for its pervasiveness and environmental impact. It was added to Annex B of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in May 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonpoint source pollution</span> Pollution resulting from multiple sources

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination of water or air that does not originate from a single discrete source. This type of pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. It is in contrast to point source pollution which results from a single source. Nonpoint source pollution generally results from land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage, or hydrological modification where tracing pollution back to a single source is difficult. Nonpoint source water pollution affects a water body from sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. Nonpoint source air pollution affects air quality, from sources such as smokestacks or car tailpipes. Although these pollutants have originated from a point source, the long-range transport ability and multiple sources of the pollutant make it a nonpoint source of pollution; if the discharges were to occur to a body of water or into the atmosphere at a single location, the pollution would be single-point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental toxicology</span>

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Perfluorononanoic acid, or PFNA, is a synthetic perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant that is also an environmental contaminant found in people and wildlife along with PFOS and PFOA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances</span> Class of perfluorinated chemical compounds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid</span> Chemical compound

Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) is a PFAS chemical compound having a four-carbon fluorocarbon chain and a sulfonic acid functional group. It is stable and unreactive because of the strength of carbon–fluorine bonds. It can occur in the form of a colorless liquid or a corrosive solid. Its conjugate base is perfluorobutanesulfonate which functions as the hydrophobe in fluorosurfactants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfluorinated compound</span>

A perfluorinated compound (PFC) or perfluoro compound is an organofluorine compound lacking C-H bonds. Many perfluorinated compounds have properties that are quite different from their C-H containing analogues. Common functional groups in PFCs are OH, CO2H, chlorine, O, and SO3H. Electrofluorination is the predominant method for PFC production. Due to their chemical stability, some of these perfluorinated compounds bioaccumulate.

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The Chemours Company is an American chemical company that was founded in July 2015 as a spin-off from DuPont. It has its corporate headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. Chemours is the manufacturer of Teflon, the brand name of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), known for its anti-stick properties. It also produces titanium dioxide and refrigerant gases.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">FRD-903</span> Chemical compound

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References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cape Fear River
  2. 1 2 "Cape Fear River Topo Map, Brunswick County NC (Southport Area)". TopoZone. Locality, LLC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  3. ↑ "ArcGIS Web Application". epa.maps.arcgis.com. US EPA. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Cape Fear River Watershed Report". Waters Geoviewer. US EPA. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  5. ↑ Cape Fear River Archived April 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine , The Columbia Gazetteer of North America: Note that despite the gazetteer's claim of the river being the longest entirely within North Carolina, the Neuse River Archived 2009-06-09 at the Wayback Machine is longer
  6. 1 2 3 "Basin wide Assessment Report Cape Fear River Basin" (PDF). August 2004 – via NCDENR.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Online, Coastal Review (2022-06-08). "Climate change, pollution imperil Cape Fear, advocates say". North Carolina Health News. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  8. 1 2 3 Barnes, Greg (2020-02-03). "New DEQ data show 'staggering' levels of PFAS in Cape Fear River basin". North Carolina Health News. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  9. ↑ "GNIS Detail - Cape Fear River". geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  10. ↑ "Cape Fear River | NCpedia". dev.ncpedia.org. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  11. 1 2 US EPA, OW (2015-09-15). "Basic Information about Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution". US EPA. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  12. ↑ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Nonpoint Source Pollution, NOS Education Offering". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  13. 1 2 "Toxic 'forever chemicals' flow freely through Cape Fear River—and now its fish". National Geographic. 2020-03-24. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  14. ↑ "Toxic 'forever chemicals' flow freely through Cape Fear River—and now its fish". Science. 2020-03-24. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  15. ↑ "NCDHHS Recommends Limiting Fish Consumption from the Middle and Lower Cape Fear River Due to Contamination With "Forever Chemicals"". NCDHHS (Press release). NC Department of Health and Human Services. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  16. 1 2 US EPA, OA (2016-03-30). "Basic Information on PFAS". US EPA. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  17. ↑ "NC DEQ: GenX Investigation". deq.nc.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  18. ↑ "NC DEQ: Groundwater". deq.nc.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  19. ↑ Kotlarz Nadine; McCord James; Collier David; Lea C. Suzanne; Strynar Mark; Lindstrom Andrew B.; Wilkie Adrien A.; Islam Jessica Y.; Matney Katelyn; Tarte Phillip; Polera M.E. (2020). "Measurement of Novel, Drinking Water-Associated PFAS in Blood from Adults and Children in Wilmington, North Carolina". Environmental Health Perspectives. 128 (7): 077005. doi:10.1289/EHP6837. PMC   7375159 . PMID   32697103.
  20. ↑ Guillette, T.C.; McCord, James; Guillette, Matthew; Polera, M.E.; Rachels, Kyle T.; Morgeson, Clint; Kotlarz, Nadine; Knappe, Detlef R.U.; Reading, Benjamin J.; Strynar, Mark; Belcher, Scott M. (2020-03-01). "Elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Cape Fear River Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) are associated with biomarkers of altered immune and liver function". Environment International. 136: 105358. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105358 . ISSN   0160-4120. PMC   7064817 . PMID   32044175.
  21. ↑ Chen, Chih-Hung; Yang, Shih-Hung; Liu, Yina; Jamieson, Pierce; Shan, Libo; Chu, Kung-Hui (2020-04-01). "Accumulation and phytotoxicity of perfluorooctanoic acid and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-2-(heptafluoropropoxy)propanoate in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana". Environmental Pollution. 259: 113817. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113817. ISSN   0269-7491. PMC   7307574 . PMID   31918129.
  22. ↑ Yan, Ni; Ji, Yifan; Zhang, Bohan; Zheng, Xilai; Brusseau, Mark L. (2020-10-06). "Transport of GenX in Saturated and Unsaturated Porous Media". Environmental Science & Technology. 54 (19): 11876–11885. Bibcode:2020EnST...5411876Y. doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b07790. ISSN   0013-936X. PMC   7654438 . PMID   32972138.
  23. ↑ North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (2017). "GenX Health Information" (PDF). NC DHHS. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-04-06.
  24. ↑ Hopkins, Zachary R.; Sun, Mei; DeWitt, Jamie C.; Knappe, Detlef R.U. (2018-06-14). "Recently Detected Drinking Water Contaminants: GenX and Other Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Ether Acids: JOURNAL AWWA". Journal - American Water Works Association. 110 (7): 13–28. doi: 10.1002/awwa.1073 .

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